The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1887-07-01
A Female Fireman.

There is one branch of labor that has
never been invaded by women TO any ex-
~. While she, in search Of employ
.hent, becomes a telegraph operator,
ticketagent, typesetter, typewriter, clerk,
saleswoman and even newspaper editor
and reporter, it has always been supposed
that she never aspired to be either an en-
gineer or fireman on 4 locomotive. But
Bridgeport holds woman in the person
of Hattie Aorgans, who has seen but
twenty-three years, and who has been
stoker in England and engineer on a
freight engine in Connecticut She has
brigh-colored, banged hair, large dark
eyes, and, although her face is weather
beaten, she is quite handsome She is
rather masculine in appearance and of a
determined expression of character. Her
story runs as follows:
About five years ago, while she was
living in London, she fell in love with
Tom Winnan, and engineer on the Fly
ing Scotchman,n an express train which
runs between London and Edinburgh.
She loved him fondly, and was never hap
py except when he was near her She
was anxious to be constantly with him,
and it was arranged between them that
she should become his fireman. So she
arrayed herself in n coarse suit of mems
clothes, and was at once transformed into
a handsome young fireman. Day after
day she attended to her duties, and the
ponderous engine. No. 562, with its seven
foot drivers, used to do the mile a minute
act over the heavy metals. Both she and
Tom kept their secret well, and she and
Tom were to be married.
But on one black day Tom was killed
by being run over by shunted car, and
he died in less than hour with his head
in Hattie's lap. In her anguish her
secret was revealed.
She left England, which had no more
happiness for her, and came to this coun-
try. She had some money, but it soon
dwindled away, and she found that she
must do something. So,again Disgusting
herself, she applied for a tircman's posi-
ton on locomotive on a Connecticut
railroad. She served nearly two years
acceptably, and has been given freight
engine. As she had Il seventy-iour mile
run and 81 was the number of her engine,
it is believed that her run was on the
New York division of the New York,
New Haven and Hartford Railroad. She
worked very well and showed her skill
!, .-,Itfi fisr en- ,sirsc- got out of renair- She
was finally given the day express to run,
aud while there she killed two men. One
was walking on the track and she blew
the whistle repeatedly, but he paid no at
tention and the engine struck and man
gled him. The other man undertook to
drive his wagon over grade crossing,
and both he and his horse were mutilated
past recognition.
These accidents broke Hattie Morgans
all up. She was exonerated by the Off
cials, but she could not sleep, and the
men constantly appeared before her.
Finally she was running engine No.
100 with fast express at the rate of
fifty miles an hour. Far ahead on the
track she saw something which she
thought was piece ofnewspaper. As she
neared it she saw it was little child
playing with the dirt and stones. Its
little life was crushed out on the instant
Hattie tried her best to reverse the en-
gine, but in vain. When the train
stopped the engineer almost tainted.
That was her last trip. The little child
haunted her day and night and she had
a severe fit of sickness. Then she re-
sumed her proper dress.
She is now engaged to be married to
an engineer who has charge of a sixty
horse power engine in a large factory not
far from New Haven. She hopes on her
tour to visit England and show |
her husband the Flying Scotchman,"
where she received her first lessons in |
But she can never, she says,
forget the lives that were crushed out |
when she stood in the cab and sent the !
locomotive along at almost lightning
speed. York Herald